We are a multidisciplinary innovation studio workingwith diverse partners to understand sustainability challenges and identify holistic, resilient solutions, and we are committed to training the next generation of leaders.

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Collegial LegacyColleagues matter. At its best, Foresight is a not a collection of staff members working together, but an ensemble of individuals each contributing their perspective and talents to a greater whole. As any chamber musician knows, playing together is relatively simple, but performing as a dynamic and vibrant unit is incredibly difficult. Trust is required; individuals must be fundamentally invested in one another’s growth and well being. Sometimes roles need to evolve, including beyond the team.

Foresight SeminarsI’m lucky. My job involves constant learning, a dynamic that I find both fun and fulfilling. The structure of the fall-to-spring academic calendar is still ingrained in me like a circadian rhythm. The onset of autumn is about new teachers, subjects and books; let’s go! Here’s what’s on my class schedule:

Impact Enterprise for the Inevitable Entrepreneur: Designed specifically for those who can’t resist the allure of the start-up, this course explores the dynamics, challenges and opportunities of “doing well by doing good.” Through experience with hands-on, real-life enterprises, students will be challenged with inflecting the tenants of capitalism toward doing more than just making money.Pre-req: Start-Up Magic 101

Organizational Development, Accelerated and Condensed: Need to evolve your organization but don’t have the time to learn everything you should know? This course is for you! With the assistance of a few fearless volunteers, we’ll explore how to evolve significant structures without your clients noticing.Pre-req: The Well Designed Organization

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in Action: For students that have talked the talk, this seminar seeks to explore methods for more deeply understanding values, and devising empowering ways for acting upon them in projects and the workplace.Pre-req: Fundamentals of Cultural Awareness and Sensitivity

The new Chicago Architecture Center’s new location at 111 E. Wacker opens to the public on August 31. Housed in a building designed by famed Chicago architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, the center celebrates the city’s architectural legacy and presents a vision of its future.

The Middle RoadPhotography mediates my stride. Hiking on vacation last week, I struggled to strike a balance between my speed-demon daughter, and slower-but-steady mother. I remember being my kid’s age, discovering a capacity to clock miles at a steady, accelerated clip, riding a mild adrenaline high that was difficult to moderate. She doesn’t like to slow down either.

A New York City bill introduced on August 20 would create an ambitious mandate to reduce building energy use by up to 80% by 2050. This framework, the first of its kind in the nation, was made possible by the cross-sector 80x50 Buildings Partnership that represents environmental interests, affordable housing, unions, and the real estate industry.

On Tuesday, New York became the first city to place temporary restrictions on apps like Uber and Lyft, citing the need to further study their impacts on wages and traffic congestion and develop regulations accordingly. The rapid and transformative rise of these apps has raised broader questions about the costs and benefits of innovation, and the public sector’s role in managing them.

How Not WhatWhat will we do? Every mayoral election provides the opportunity for new ideas. I was recently approached by one candidate’s campaign to help create a forward-looking sustainability platform. My first response: it’s not a matter of what, but of how.

Peak PopulationI’m a city person. I’ve lived mostly in urban areas for the past 25 years. Chicago’s combination of quality of life and cost of living has made it an appealing home base. The recent development patterns, however, have reached a tipping point. Population density is increasing out of sync with the implementation of new public amenities like open space, public transportation, and a sense of neighborhood identity. Chicago is peaking, with its benefits being threatened by the drive to increase the tax base without investing in the infrastructure that will sustain and amplify its appeal.

Body in Flight III: The Impossible ProjectMy mother set the example. “Guess what I did today?” she asked during an unexpected phone call one evening a few years ago, before announcing her impromptu skydiving feat. Whether scuba diving, downhill skiing, travel to remote locations, or falling from an airplane, my fearless mother has been the family’s chief adventure officer. I probably wouldn’t have jumped myself without her example.

Researchers have found evidence of a subglacial lake on Mars, the first indication that the planet currently has a persistent body of water. While it is far from certain whether lifeforms exist, or have existed, in these lakes, future missions now have clearer signposts for further investigation.